Enterprises manage financial and inventory data for products and services. For example, it has been proposed to monitor item sales velocity in a consumer retail store by determining when sales occur too swiftly or too slowly. A software system is first “trained” in a learning mode that evaluates an item's sales velocity probability and when the actual sales deviate too far from this probability, the system informs the user. If an item moves too swiftly, it may become out-of-stock earlier than expected. If an item moves too slowly, it may indicate a lack of consumer access to the item, such as when the item is out-of-stock or not present on a shelf.
It has also been proposed to construct a conceptual hierarchical framework representing a virtual or physical retail store environment and populate the environment with a collection of items. For example, the environment is represented as an environmental hierarchy comprising elements such as a floor, zones within a floor, planning units within zones and row segments within each planning unit that can represent a virtual or physical embodiment. This framework can represent a physical retail environment where items are read into the system using a handheld scanner.
It has further been proposed to use a category definition and variety optimization system to provide retail stores with reports displaying sales data for a single store or a chain of stores or to show how the store or chain is performing relative to the market. Items are placed into “velocity classes” based upon their average throughput over a certain period of time. Additionally, it has been proposed to use a time-phased planning system in a retail store supply chain to generate replenishment plans for goods in one or more retail stores.
However, while managing financial and inventory data is important to an enterprise, most enterprises lack the ability to compare loss performance to predetermined standards. Enterprises also lack the ability to compare loss performance among the various organizational entities of the enterprise or groups thereof. What is needed therefore is a computer-based reporting system to evaluate loss in an enterprise.